[19] Legion And Surrealism.

In an age of information overload, the technological advances of our generation have given us many perks too. One of them being the option of pausing the video you are watching on your laptop.

Rarely has it ever crossed my mind, to pause a TV show or a movie and appreciate what just happened. The TV show Legion has such an impact on me where my mind is blown away by a camera move, lighting change, editing, direction where I pause the clip and just reflect on the director’s unthinkable execution of it.

The true surrealism of this show has astounded me. For example, in the second episode, David is told to control the voices in his head and just focus on the one calling out his name. Dr.Melanie tells him to turn down the knob and with this, he will be able to turn down all the other voices lest the one calling his name. Instead of imagining or just hearing the voices disappear, we are inside David’s head and watch him actually turning down a big knob.

We are inside David’s head.

The director of the show Noah Hawley has cited Twin Peaks and the recent Hannibal as his inspiration for this surreal treatment of the Legion story. The costumes are straight out of the 80’s but the technology tips in favour of the 22nd century.

It took Hawley three at-bats writing books before any were published. He ran two shows that didn’t last a full season and now after directing Fargo, he enjoys ultimate creative freedom on Legion which lets him experiment as he wants. These experiments may distract the viewer but it instils a feeling inside you that does not leave you.

Hawley’s uncanny and magical vision for the show is a step away from reality and it captures the zeitgeist of the current scenario where reality is far from the ideal. We are loving that our favourite detective Sherlock Holmes is using twitter and we can also delve inside his mind.

Surrealism has invaded popular cinema and television. The rise was evident all along cinema’s long history but lately, it has gained a momentum that doesn’t seem to stop and we hope it won’t stop.